Hibernation is a computer power management technology. In the prior art, when a computer enters a hibernation mode, hibernation state information of an operating system of the computer is saved in a non-volatile memory of a system in a form of an image file, where the image file is an image file of the operating system, and the image file of the operating system includes an original kernel and other application program information. When the computer is awakened from the hibernation mode and once it detects that an image file of a to-be-recovered operating system is saved in the non-volatile memory, the computer first loads and starts the original kernel, reads the image file of the operating system from the non-volatile memory of the system by using the started original kernel, and recovers, according to the hibernation state information of the operating system included in the image file of the operating system, the operating system of the computer to a state, before the operating system enters the hibernation mode, of the operating system. In the prior art, because the original kernel is consistent with a kernel included in the operating system, a recovery speed of a method for recovering the operating system of the computer in the prior art is relatively slow.